


Dialogue Between an Immortal and the Ghost That Haunts Him

by florencedrunk



Series: The March 2017 Stucky Challenge [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ghost Bucky Barnes, Immortal Steve Rogers, M/M, dead bucky barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 08:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10272512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florencedrunk/pseuds/florencedrunk
Summary: Once upon a time, when Sol burned bright and Earth was all there was, Steve was a scrawny kid that would have been lucky to celebrate his twentieth birthday. And then he did (too stubborn to die, the doctor said), and then a whole lot of stuff happened, and he ended up celebrating his thirtieth birthday a century after he was born.2. immortality





	

# 2\. immortality

Once upon a time, when Sol burned bright and Earth was all there was, Steve was a scrawny kid that would have been lucky to celebrate his twentieth birthday. And then he did (too stubborn to die, the doctor said), and then a whole lot of stuff happened, and he ended up celebrating his thirtieth birthday a century after he was born.

Now, all that's left is a lonely rock orbiting a dying star, and here he is, thousands of years later, and still the same age he was when he stepped out of that chamber in the middle of the S.S.R. facility.

"Do you ever wonder what will happen?" Bucky asks. "When the universe ends, I mean."

The good thing about immortality is that you pretty much stop having to eat, to breathe, to sleep, to do all those things that are so vital for humans. The bad thing about immortality is that the ghosts just keep piling up: there's his ma and Peggy and Sam and Natasha and Wanda and Bucky — always Bucky.

He smiles like he's still in the 1930s, but his hair is long just like the last time Steve saw him. He never seems to get the clothes right, though, wearing an army uniform with a torn sleeve to make space for the metal arm, or all-black gear that looks too big for his younger body. Sometimes, he shows up as a kid; other times, he has a big red spot just above his heart and bags under his eyes — he walks and talks as if he weren't seconds away from dying.

"I figure I'll just roll with it," Steve responds.

"The last time you did that you crashed a plane into the ocean," Bucky says, sitting down on the ground beside him.

"That did save the Earth, though," he says. "And it also spared me a lot of time without you."

Bucky laughs. He laughs just like Steve remembers he did. Of course he does.

"But seriously," Bucky says. "What are your options?"

"Best case scenario, I just die."

"Thor said that's impossible."

"Thor also said he would come back for me."

"It's not his fault the Bifrost collapsed."

"I know."

"I know that you know, that's how I know," Bucky explains. "Worst case scenario?"

"I just keep going."

"Would that be so bad?"

"I'm just really tired, and eternity is not that much fun if you have no one to share it with."

"Find someone, then."

"Really? That's the best advice you have for me? How many times have you died on me, Bucky?"

Azzano. The Train. And then... (Judas bullets, they called them. Steve watches him get hit by one of them and the world stops. And then he hears the explosion.)

"Aren't dead people supposed to know the future or something?" Steve asks. "Can't you tell me what's gonna happen?"

"I'm not dead," Bucky responds. "I mean, I am, but I'm not really _him_."

"I'll just have to wait, then."

"I'm here with you."

"But you're not, though," he points out. "Not really."

"Does that really matter?"

"No, I guess not."

"'Till the end of the line, then, right?" Bucky says, holding his hand out. Steve takes it, meaning that he hold out his arm towards empty air.

"'Till the end of the line."

**Author's Note:**

> If you have questions or just want to say hi you can find me on [tumblr](http://florencedrunk.tumblr.com)
> 
> .


End file.
